Crimes with homo/transphobic motives remain invisible to the state
Yesterday, the Verkhovna Rada adopted Bill 11456 “On Amendments to the Law of Ukraine ‘On Free Legal Aid’ Regarding Expanding the List of Persons Entitled to Free Secondary Legal Aid” which supplements the list of subjects entitled to free secondary legal aid by persons who have suffered from criminal offenses based on hatred on grounds of race, skin color, political, religious, and other beliefs, gender, disability, ethnic and social origin, property status, place of residence, language. However, the list of protected characteristics does not include sexual orientation and gender identity despite the fact that both independent observers and the National Police report every year on the presence and prevalence of such crimes in Ukraine — accordingly, their victims should have the same right to legal aid as victims of hate crimes on other grounds.
